23 Problems in Systems Neuroscience: (Computational Neuroscience Series)

The complexity of the brain and the protean nature of behavior remain the most elusive area of science, but also the most important. van Hemmen and Sejnowski invited 23 experts from the many areas--from evolution to qualia--of systems neuroscience to formulate one problem each. Although each chapter was written independently and can be read separately, together they provide a useful roadmap to the field of systems neuroscience and will serve as a source of inspirations for future explorers of the brain.

Table of Contents:
PrefaceJ. Leo van Hemmen and Terrence J. Sejnowski: Section 1: How have brains evolved? 1: Gilles Laurent: Shall we ever understand the fly's brain? 2: Hermann Wagner and Bernhard Gaese: Can we understand the action of brain in natural environments? 3: Gunther Ehr: Hemisphere dominance of brain function-which functions are lateralized and why? Section 2: How is the cerebral cortex organized? 4: S. Murray Sherman: What is the function of the thalamus? 5: J. Leo van Hemmen: What is a neuronal map, how does it arise, and what is it good for? 6: Jean Bullier: What is the role of top-down connections? Section 3: How do neurons interact? 7: Wulfram Gerstner: How fast is neuronal signal transmission? 8: Dr. Carl van Vreeswi: What is the origin and functional properties of irregular activity? 9: Amiram Grinvald, Tal Kenet, Amos Arieli, and Misha Tsodyks: Are single cortical neurons independent or are they obedient members of a huge orchestra? 10: Bruno A. Olshausen and David J. Field: What is the other 85% of V1 doing? Section 4: What can brains compute? 11: Steven W. Zuck: What is the formal computation in early vision? 12: Catherine Carr, D. Soares, S. Parameshwaran, S. Kalluri, J. Simon, and T. Perney: Are neurons adapted for specific computations? 13: Andreas V.M. Herz: How can neural systems compute in the time domain 14: David McAlpine and Alan R. Palmer: How common are neural codes? 15: Georg Klump: How does the hearing system perform auditory scene analysis? 16: Laurenz Wiskott: How does our visual system achieve shift and size invariance? Section 5: 17: Henning Scheich, Frank W. Ohl, Holger Schulze, Andreas Hess, and Andre Brechmann: What is reflected in sensory neocortical activity: External stimuli or what the cortex does with them? 18: Giacomo Rizzolatti and Vittorio Gallese: To what extent does perception depend upon action? 19: Terrence J. Sejnowski: What are the projective fields of cortical neurons? 20: John Reynolds: To what extent is the brain reconfigurable? 21: Laurence Abbott: Where are the switches on this thing? 22: V.S. Ramachandran and Edward M. Hubbard: Do qualia, metaphor, language, and abstract thought emerge from synesthesia 23: Francis Crick and Christof Koch: What are the neural correlates of consciousness?

Review :
"Neuroscience has a rather briefer history than mathematics, but Leo van Hemmen and Terry Sejnowski felt that it was nonetheless mature enough for them to organize a meeting on Problems in Neuroscience a century after Hilberts address. This printed version of their meeting, 23 Problems in Systems Neuroscience, has taken six years to arrive, but it is not too late and certainly not too little. In the place of one Hilbert are 40 problem-posers who have collectively contributed the 23 chapters, grouped into sections that sum up 5 current concerns: How have brains evolved? How is cerebral cortex organized? How do neurons interact? What can brains compute? How are cognitive systems organized? With such an attractive list of topics, this book is sure to find a wide audience at every level of interest, from lay readers to students and academics."--Kevan A.C. Martin, Nature "Forty authors contribute twenty-three chapters in this book. Divided into five sections, this book reflects the interaction between genetics and morphology, function, and a possible influence in behavior. The difficulty of the topic is explained in accessible manner by leading world authorities. The illustrations are self-explanatory and the references, up-to-date. In my view, there are hardly any shortcomings in the book." --Celso Agner, MD, MSc(Albany Medical Center), Doody's "The chapters read well, are well illustrated, and have useful reference sections. Even if your favorite area of neurosceince is not covered, you will find plenty to interest you in this volume."--Physiology News "Neuroscience has a rather briefer history than mathematics, but Leo van Hemmen and Terry Sejnowski felt that it was nonetheless mature enough for them to organize a meeting on Problems in Neuroscience a century after Hilberts address. This printed version of their meeting, 23 Problems in Systems Neuroscience, has taken six years to arrive, but it is not too late and certainly not too little. In the place of one Hilbert are 40 problem-posers who have collectively contributed the 23 chapters, grouped into sections that sum up 5 current concerns: How have brains evolved? How is cerebral cortex organized? How do neurons interact? What can brains compute? How are cognitive systems organized? With such an attractive list of topics, this book is sure to find a wide audience at every level of interest, from lay readers to students and academics."--Kevan A.C. Martin, Nature "Forty authors contribute twenty-three chapters in this book. Divided into five sections, this book reflects the interaction between genetics and morphology, function, and a possible influence in behavior. The difficulty of the topic is explained in accessible manner by leading world authorities. The illustrations are self-explanatory and the references, up-to-date. In my view, there are hardly any shortcomings in the book." --Celso Agner, MD, MSc(Albany Medical Center), Doody's "23 Problems in Systems Neuroscience addresses this 'how' of thought and perception. How have brains evolved? How is cerebral cortex organized? How do neurons interact? What can brains compute? How are cognitive systems organized? 23 Problems is the outcome of a gathering of 40 of the most respected researchers in cognitive and computational neuroscience. In the six years after the conference, the editors distilled and refined the proceedings into 23 chapters. However, the book retains the intellectual delight of good scientists at play. The authors delved into the provocative questions, but did so through examination of the microphysical processes."--PsycCRITIQUES